MetLife expands foothold in north India

American life insurance giant MetLife today said it has expanded its Indian presence by opening 20 new offices across the country's northern region, which it sees as an important growth engine.

"MetLife now has an established network of 58 branches across 40 cities in the northern region," MetLife India Managing Director Rajesh Relan said in a statement.

The insurer, a joint venture between MetLife International Holdings, The Jammu and Kashmir Bank, M Pallonji and Co and other private investors, is one of the fastest growing players in the segment in the country.

"Our country-wide branch expansion plans will bring us in close proximity to our customers. Northern region is an important market... The new offices will help our products to come within an easy reach of our customers," Relan said.

The new branches are located in cities including Ajmer, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Sangrur, Barnala, Bathinda, Panchkula, Faridkot, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Mohali, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Udaipur and Jodhpur.

The life insurance company, he said, has over 50,000 financial advisers - all of whom have gone through rigorous training to understand customer need and are equipped to provide need based financial solutions.

It has arrangements to sell its products through a network that includes Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Barclays and Axis Bank.